Far from Heaven
by myhummelberryheart
Summary: Just two fighters in New York against the world. Hummelberry friendship/relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Prompt was: Kurt as kick-ass.

* * *

Rachel flicked another cigarette off to the side as she hunkered down in her jacket. It was cold, and getting colder. She could kick Kurt for stirring up these absolutely chilling winds.

"You're freezing my wings off," she said into her ear piece. Kurt just chuckled.

"Learn to live with it," he said. "And let it go, let it go…"

Rachel groaned. "You've watched _Frozen_ way too many times."

The sounds of fighting could be heard over their communication devices. Kurt had found the demon pack.

"Shit," said Rachel as she took off to the skies. She glided on the wind, searching for Kurt's location. It didn't take her long, as a lightning bolt came straight from the heavens down to the ground. She could feel the static in the air ruffling her feathers. She plunged downwards, unsheathing her sword. The blade glowed gold as she struck at the demons who had surrounded Kurt. Several were already dead at his feet, but there were many more. She powered energy through the blade and struck at the group. Kurt had summoned mini-twisters, whirling them into the nearby buildings, cracking the cement and brick. Hearing their spines snap where some of the best sounds to Rachel's ears as she loathed the black and red scaled creatures that took so many lives. She sliced through a few of the remaining demons, watching as Kurt froze those near him. She sent her sword through the ice, killing the demons trapped inside. Kurt called forth fire to reign down from the sky, incinerating their bodies to nothing but white and grey ash upon the snow.

Kurt wiped the sweat off his brow. "Thanks." Rachel nodded as she watched him shiver with a chuckle.

"You should have worn a jacket."

"Why should I when I've got you to keep me warm?"

"My wings are not intended to be used as a blanket." She poked a finger in his chest.

"Fine," he said with a sigh. He waved a hand upwards and the skies began to clear. She could feel the sun's rays on her skin and expanded her wings to take it all in.

"Beautiful," she said softly. She opened her eyes with a sigh, looking at the several feet deep snow still lying around New York.

"And I'm sure the city is just going to _love _this clean up." She took a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it.

"They'll live," said Kurt waving his hand dismissively. "At least it's not as bad as the tsunami."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Details on this may change, but I like where it's going.

* * *

That evening after making their way through the back streets of New York, Rachel sat out on the roof of her and Kurt's apartment. Having the terrace helped when she wanted to stretch her wings or smoke. Although there was still snow everywhere, she was out there grooming. She could feel some of her soft down started to loosen and it was slightly itchy next to her skin. She growled to herself when her arms and the wire brush she was using wasn't long enough to reach some parts. Kurt came walking out from the stairway out onto the roof, steaming hot drinks in hand. She took it with a thank you. She sipped on the hot chocolate as she stared off in the distances. He stole the brush from her hand and sat his drink down on a nearby table. He started working on her left wing carefully, brushing each other like it was precious. She let out a long sigh and gently fluttered her wings.

"At least you don't molt," commented Kurt as he held up a loose feather. He put it in the palm of his hand and let it float away on the wind. Rachel nibbled on a marshmallow before responding.

"And at least birds come by their feathers by being born into them. They have a purpose."

Kurt arched an eyebrow. "You have a purpose too, you know."

Rachel tried not to think about when she left Heaven. A task had been presented to her. She had been picked to protect the son of a demon. The boy had been quite unique in his powers and birthright and presented an opportunity to make a dent in the demon hordes than plagued the planet. She was expected to save him and bring him "to the light."

What she hadn't expected to fall in love with him in the process.

Why she had, she didn't know. Angels were not supposed to have emotions in theory. Exalting the higher powers was the only thing she had ever known. The wonder of his creation, the wonder of his being. They were always on the outside looking in, watching as humanity experienced the Earth and everything he had blessed them with. Emotions and awareness of their selves at the cost of sin.

It was enough to make _anyone_ jealous really.

Even if she had fallen from grace, she could still feel the love, the joy, and the pain of everything. The wonder of humanity was beautiful. She finally understood why man had been blessed now that she was on the inside.

She smiled at Kurt as he started on her right wing. His demonic features, while hidden to the world, were still visible to her.

"You're beautiful," she said, caressing his face.

"I am not," he protested as he tried to move away. Rachel let her fingers trail down his lips, and she lingered on the bottom one, caressing the sensitive skin.

"I look like… them."

"But you're not them," said Rachel.

He closed his eyes as Rachel rubbed his cheek. She could still see his yellow and red eyes, his spaded prehensile red tail. He had sharp canine teeth, long brown hair that hung in his eyes when he didn't try to style it, and the small red horns that protruded from his green skin on his forehead. Even the nails on his hands were red.

"You can make choices, be an individual. You aren't mindless like them. They know nothing but hatred and death."

"Who knows, if you hadn't of come along, I might have been."

"There is no devil in you Kurt," smiled Rachel. She stood up and kissed him gently, nuzzling his neck. "With or without your human disguise."

He pulled her into his arms and she hugged him fiercely. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

"I will always protect you," he said softly.

"You're the one that's supposed to be protected." She laughed softly and adjusted her shirt that opened in the back. "Birthright and all." She shivered a little in the early evening air.

"Birthright, right," said Kurt, rolling his eyes. Rachel leaned down and picked up a cigarette out of her pack and lit it. "And I suppose it's the reason why you've stayed."

"Of course," she said, waving her hand. "Can't leave you alone in New York to fend for yourself."

Kurt gave her a look that said he wasn't amused. "I can take care of myself, you know."

"You keep saying that," said Rachel as she blew out a puff of smoke. "Just remember who's paying the rent." She kissed him on the cheek.


	3. Chapter 3

It was night time when they got the next call. Kurt was up and already out the door by the time Rachel had managed to get up off the couch and grab shoes. It had been a restless night, and she had been up and down. Not even the greatest redheads in comedy on TV had been able to make her relax enough to sleep. Now she understood why. The packs had gotten worse. Demons at night were hard since they had the ability to meld in with the shadows. And while Kurt had the powers of the earth at his disposal, he didn't have the ability to make the moon brighter.

Or the streetlamps.

Rachel went out to the rooftop and took off to the skies, the night wind slicing through her feathers with an icy knife. She could tell by it's nature that Kurt had summoned it. For a demon, he enjoyed the cold more than the heat. She had often wondered if somehow he thought he could freeze that part of him, to turn it off somehow by burying it in the cold. She tapped the bluetooth device by her cheek and called for Kurt.

"Please tell you've got sight on them so I'm not up here just freezing my balls off."

"Not yet," said Kurt tiredly. She could tell he had been running. "You see anything?"

Rachel frowned as she flew, looking as hard as she could around her. Dodging towers and lightning rods on top of buildings made it a little hard to pay that close attention, but it was better than risking being seen in the neon lights of the city. Although most people would write off an angel sighting as their imaginations running wild.

"Nothing," she said. "Maybe they got a kill and headed back underground. You are trying to freeze them to death."

"It doesn't make sense," said Kurt. "What-"

But Rachel heard screams that chilled her to her bones as she dived down.

"The Children's Hospital Kurt!"

She landed on the roof and waved a hand over the lock on the rooftop access door. Like her own residence, there was a sitting area for patients to come have a look at the city through a glass enclosed balcony. She ran down the stairs and put a hand to the wall. There was definitely demonic activity within the place. The feeling of evil settled along her skin and it just made her burn in righteous anger. She pulled out her sword and pulled open the fire safety door.

The heat hit her quickly. They had set fire to the place. There was people scrambling everywhere. She folded her wings around her as best as she could, whimpering. While she did have a great healing ability, charred feathers were not something she wanted to deal with.

"Kurt, hurry up and start the rainshower!"

The sound of thunder rumbling overhead made her feel better. She needed to get through the building and look for the demons, but with the fires, she couldn't chance it. She made her way back up the stairs and took off. She found Kurt outside, breathing hard.

"They've already taken off," he said. "I ran through the building. I think... 15 kids... I don't know." He pointed to the group of nurses and children being guided away from the building surrounded by doctors and firemen. Rachel shook her head.

"They had a head start," she said with a sigh, feeling the rain dripping down her neck. She wiped at it in disgust.

"Innocent children," muttered Kurt.

"Sitting ducks," said Rachel, shaking her head.

"Is there nothing-?" said an exasperated Kurt. Rachel shook her head. There was nothing else they could do.

"They don't know compassion Kurt."

"Fuck it. Fuck hell. Fuck them!" he growled. She took his arm, rubbing it gently. She was angry herself, but there was nothing she could do but try to calm down and focus.

"Come on, I'll buy you an egg cream."

* * *

Rachel knew Kurt was agitated still as she steered him back to the apartment. There had been one more call before sunrise, which had been a little more successful. But the idea that 15 or more children had been taken by the devils had been enough to make her feel ill. Fury burned through her veins, but there was literally nothing they could do. Neither one of them could follow the demons into hell. She sat on the rooftop with a sigh, a cigarette hanging out of her mouth as she thought.

She hated knowing. She hated the game. Because that was all it was. God had created light. God had created dark. God created heaven and hell. The whole damn thing. Everything was God's and everything was of God. It made no sense to her if she tried to think about it. It wasn't until she had been sent to Earth that she had to think. Before she had just been. One of many entities among the fold, singing praises unto him. He manipulated everything, everything was just a pawn. It made her sick to even try to fathom it, knowing full well she was still on her mission. His strength was her own.

And she needed that strength. To protect Kurt from heaven and hell. Even from herself.

She sighed, taking one last drag from the cigarette before putting it out under her heel, making sure not to crack the cement and brick beneath her.

She needed bacon and eggs for this. She was not even ready to see the news of the city waking up to the lost children.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I realize I need a description for a Demi. It'll be forthcoming, so bear with me.

* * *

Rachel was sitting on a rooftop of a building, enjoying the morning sun.

Two days had passed since the city she now called home had demanded a search for the children that had gone missing. Not that they'd ever have any luck in doing so. She knew where they had been taken, and they would never come back alive. She could only weep along with the rest of the city.

"Five of them. Loners it looks like."

"Surface breed," agreed Rachel into her ear piece. "They've been away too long."

The sound of screeching reached her ears and she flinched, but only briefly. Although she was quite happy to make a dent in the demon numbers; any creature's death was not something to relish.

"Feel better now?" she said, smirking.

"You know I do," humored Kurt. "Where to now?"

"Management wants us to look for hell mouths outside of the city," said Rachel. "See if there's been any new activity."

Kurt sighed. "Just perfect. And here I thought I'd actually get some studying done."

"You can go back to your books soon," chided Rachel. "Although don't think I didn't notice you watching Netflix when I was even though you were in the kitchen _studying_."

"I don't know what you're talking about," sniffed Kurt. Rachel laughed.

"Uh-huh," she said. "Anything?"

"Other than people?"

"This is New York."

"I think I want Chinese for lunch," said Kurt. Rachel ran cold. That was their code for the appearance of a Demi. Higher ranking demons were not that hard to spot if you knew what you were looking for. She hadn't expected one to be so brazen and be out in the city during the day. But most New Yorkers were blind, thinking it was someone in costume. It was _always_ someone in costume when it came to anything that wasn't human.

"Don't engage him Kurt," she warned him. "This doesn't bode well."

"Considering he's built more than the Hulk, I think I'll pass."

She let out a small sigh of relief. Kurt was bull-headed sometimes, and she wouldn't be surprised if he had tried to engage him without. And if he lost his concentration and his own disguise…

"I'm coming down," she said firmly. "We need to follow him."

"Good luck with that," said Kurt. "The streets are packed."

She wasn't surprised. But one good thing about New York was the mostly empty alleyways. She landed quickly behind a set of dumpsters.

"Which way is he headed?" she whispered into her ear piece.

"Northwest."

Rachel frowned, wondering what exactly this Demi would be up to. She quickly met up with Kurt, grateful that she could force her wings away. While they were still there, it helped for her to make appearances in the sight of humans. If she needed them, they could burst back into the light.

"He's going to notice you."

"I don't care," responded Rachel to Kurt's comment. "It's not like he doesn't know he wouldn't be followed. They're not that stupid."

"Think it could be a trap?" frowned Kurt as they briskly walked, trying to keep pace with everyone around them. The Demi kept walking, minding his own business. He hadn't made a move to do anything against the pair, which made Rachel wonder if Kurt's suggestion wasn't ringing true.

"I don't– I don't know."

Kurt frowned, brushing his bangs out of way as they tried to keep the Demi just in sight.

"Could he be the reason why the children were taken? If so, they could be–"

"While we both would like that thought," said Rachel, shaking her head as she interrupted him. "They're already gone." While she would be thrilled, Demi's didn't handle the dirty work of food and mindless torture. They were out for the specialty kills. This Demi had a target and she had to know why. It had been a Demi that she had saved Kurt from the first time they had met. It seemed so long ago now.

They ended up losing the demon somewhere around 15th street in Chelsea. Whether he had gone into a building or was just trying to lose them, they really had no idea. An eye blink and he was just gone. The pair had already reported the sighting to Management, but there was nothing they could do without an eye on the Demi.

"They'll send someone out looking who can move fast between buildings. We gave them a good description," said Rachel with a shrug, rubbing Kurt's shoulder. He gave a slightly audible grunt.

"Alright caveman," the brunette said, rolling her eyes. He arched an eyebrow at the comment, but said nothing. Kurt put an arm around her shoulders, and they both started walking away.

* * *

16 more. Rachel reeled at the thought. There were sixteen more children taken from a children's home overnight. She and Kurt were both exhausted. Kurt was lying face down on a bench of an abandoned church they used as a safe house, not even bothering with his appearance. His tail flicked back and forth lazily against the cushioned seats, his bumpy green skin shimmering gold in the early morning light. She reached out and patted his bare back gently, hoping that some healing and good thoughts would flow to him. She looked up at the old stained glass windows, wondering if maybe she should have chosen a better place to rest and coordinate. It felt almost daunting, like the place was mocking them or what they were. A church was centered on peace, not fighting and killing.

At least, it should be.

"We should have–" he began, but Rachel sighed.

"Kurt, we're not the only ones available in this city. We were already fighting off other packs."

"So is HE letting them be taken?" he said tensely. Rachel could only wince at the thought.

"I don't– I don't know," she said, being honest. "The Divine's plans are his and his alone."

Kurt sighed.

"And I'm sure he's got something in mind for me too."

"He only does what he knows is best," said Rachel. "That much I can tell you."

"Crime, hate, discrimination…" he muttered.

"I don't think they–" began Rachel, but she stopped. She couldn't justify evil. She couldn't even justify their own existence, really. She sighed and felt her wings drop a little when her shoulders did.

"You know I can't explain it anymore than you could," she said with a small huff. "It's not our choices. We do what we can."

"Yes, my very bruised back can attest to the doing what we can part," he said, straying somewhere between sarcasm and cynicism. He got up slowly, wincing as he did. Kurt was a fast healer, but there had been so much activity. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I know I shouldn't question, but it's on days like this I have to wonder what is really going on above and below."

Rachel nodded numbly, not knowing how to answer that. She crossed her arms across her body, picking at a loose feather on her sapphire blue sweater, which now had blood stains and grit from their fighting during the night.

"If I could explain it to you, I would," she said. "Sometimes it's just too much to comprehend. Everyone's locked into a battle. Heaven and Hell, good and evil. It seems so black and white at first. But it's not. Nothing is ever that simple."

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I'm prime example of it," he said, reaching for the remains of the t-shirt he had been wearing. He carefully put it back on before putting on the button up over it that had seen even worse wear than the t-shirt.

"We're going to have to make another run to the thrift store to get you some more clothes for work," she sighed. "You keep running headfirst into battle."


End file.
